On Sunday, September 27, unknown gunmen waylaid three Ugandan traders en-route to Gumbo Market and demanded a ransom of three million South Sudanese Pounds (8.5 million Shillings) for each of them. Those kidnapped included Mayende Kamaadi, Ahmed Ssebagala and Peter Tusiime.
Hundreds of Ugandan businessmen have closed food shops in Gumbo Market South Sudan protesting
the arbitrary killing of their business associates.
On
Sunday, September 27,
unknown gunmen waylaid three Ugandan traders en-route to Gumbo Market
and demanded a ransom of three million South Sudanese Pounds (8.5
million Shillings) for each of them. Those kidnapped included Mayende
Kamaadi, Ahmed
Ssebagala and Peter Tusiime.
Mayende and Ssebagala were killed
on
Tuesday after the traders collected and sent about 9.6 million Shillings
in
partial payment while Tusiime escaped on Wednesday night. Raymond Okot,
one of the traders in Gumbo says Tusiime, who was driving
and transporting tomatoes to Gumbo Market from Uganda informed them
that they were kidnapped along Nimule-Juba road near
Nesitu bridge.
According to Okot, Tusiime who is undergoing
treatment in Juba told them that Mayende was killed first and Ssebagala later
after he was hit on the head with a hammer. Tusiime only managed to escape when
the kidnappers were carrying the bodies to dump in the bush.
Agnes Namuli, a bereaved trader implored
Uganda and South Sudan governments to expedite the search for the two bodies so
that they are accorded a befitting burial back home. She said; “We won’t open
food shops in Gumbo Market until the
bodies of our colleagues are recovered.”
Meanwhile, Aisha Bako,
another businesswoman says that several cargo trucks carrying merchandise
from Uganda to South Sudan have parked in Elegu in a protest demanding for justice
and their safety.
According to the traders, four other traders were kidnapped on Thursday and their whereabouts remain unknown.
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Maj Telesphor Turyamumanya, the UPDF 4th
Division Spokesman condemned the armed violence being meted against Ugandans in
South Sudan which he attributed to criminal activities of rebel remnants.
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Daniel Justin Boula, the South Sudanese National Police Service said they are
still carrying out investigation before making an official statement.
South Sudan is a key market for Uganda’s exports. The East
African country accounted for USD 239.2 million in 2016, USD 299.3 million in 2017
and USD 355.9 million in 2018 respectively.
In 2011 South Sudan attained
political independence, but it shortly plummeted into a series of civil wars
which has made the security situation across the
country volatile with plentiful of weapons in the hands of armed men who are
without jobs and resort to criminality.
Several foreign
nationals including aid workers have been killed in targeted attacks which makes South
Sudan one of the most dangerous operating environments for foreigners in the
world. More than 115 Incidents of violence, intimidation, arbitrary detention
and kidnappings have been reported since 2013.
